Mouthpiece-forming mechanism



S. I. PRESCOTT.

MOUTHPIBOE FORMING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAY 14. 100B.

1, 1 05,832. Patented Aug. 41,1914.

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THE NORRIS PETERS C0,, PHO'IO-LITHQ. WASHING'IDN, D

S. I. PRESCOTT.

MOUTHPIEGB FORMING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 14. 1906.

1,105,832, Patented Aug.4,1914.

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'IIIE NORRIS PETERS CO. PHOTO-LI'IHO, WASHINGTON. Dv C um'tunn srAaiEs 1PATENT, onnion.

SYDNEY I. PRESCOTT, OF NEW. YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICANTOBACCO COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF. NEW JERSEY.

MOUTHPIECE-FORMING- MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 4, 1914:.

Application filed May 14, 1906. Serial No. 316,686.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, SYDNEY I. Pnnsoo'rr, a citizen of the United States,residing at New. York, county of Kings, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Mouthpiece-Formments inmechanism for forming cigarette tubes containing mouthpieces, such tubesbe ing used in the manufacture of cigarettes.

In machines ordinarily I used in which mouthpieces have been made andintroduced into cigarette tubes, mouthpiece blanks have been cut from acontinuous strip of material by two knives, one of which produced aforming cut extending diagonally across the strip and the other of whichsevered the mouthpiece blank. In these machines the successivemouthpiece blanks had their narrow ends, produced by the forming cutreferred to, extending in opposite directions so that it was necessary,in order to present the blanks properly to the coiling mechanism, toreverse the position of every other mouthpiece blank. chines, therefore,necessarily involved a somewhat complicated blank reversing mechanism,and the mouthpiece blanks formed thereby were further objectionablebecause the diagonal forming out which extended entirely across thestrip produced a blank hav inga very narrow end which was so Weak thatwhen the mouthpiece was coiledup it did not act satisfactorily as atobacco stop; it being understood, of course, that the tobacco isstuffed into the tubes after the mouthpieces have been inserted thereinand into that end of the tubes which is opposite to the endcontainingthe mouthpiece.

It is one of the objects of this inventionto produce an improvedmechanism for forming mouthpiece blanks in which the forming.

cuts shallbe made in such a way as to produce blanks having narrowednecks which shall be sufficiently rigid, afterthe mouthpiece iscompleted, to form a tobacco stop.

A further object of the invention is to produce unimproved mechanism forforming mouthpiece blanks in which the form: ing cuts shall be made insuch a way as to narrow the necklof the mouthpiece on both Theconstruction :of these ma sides thereof the neck of the blank thusformed being sufliciently rigid, after the mouthpiece is completed, toact as a tobacco stop on one edge, the other edge bein cut away toimprove the appearance 0 the mouthpiece.

l/Vith theseand other objects not specifically referred to in view, theinvention consists in certain constructions, and in certain parts,improvements and combinations as will be hereinafter fully described andthen.

specifically pointed out.

Referring to the accompanying draw- 1ngs-F1gure 1 1llustrates,1n planview, the

blank cutting mechanism and a mechanism.

for forming and inserting mouthpieces, certain parts being showninsection. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the construction illustrated inFig. 1, certain parts being shown in section. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 arediagrams illustrating the action of the blank forming. deylces. Fig. 6is a plan view of themechanism for inserting the mouthpiece into thetube and the rerolhng mechanism. Fig. 7 is a front elevation of theconstruction shown in Fig. 6. Fi s. 8 and 9 are diagrammatic viewsillustratmgthe operation of the winding spindle. y i

The mouth-piece blanks are, in the particular machine shown, formed froma contlnuous strip of mouthpiece material indicated at 1 in Figs. 3 and4,'this materialbeing obtained from any suitable source, as a reel, notshown. The strip may be guided in any suitable manner to the devicestobe hereinafter described for forming the blanks and the mouthpieces.In the construction illustrated, the strip is laid over a curved guide 2(see Figs. 1 and 2), this guide being provided, if desired,with asuitable tension spr ng, as 3, and havingits cclgesraised, as indicatedat 4, to form a channel for the strip.

The strip is caused to receive suitable cuts by which the blank isformed and severed from the strip. These cuts may be effected invvarious ways and by mechanism which differ widelyin character. Themechanism will, however, be such as to produce a mouthpiece blankA (seeFig. 5) having a narrow neck. By this term is meant that part of theblank which is presented to and seized by the coilingdevices which formthe blank into a mouth piece. While a single cut might, under certaincircumstances, be employed for narrowing the end of the mouth pieceblank, inthe best constructions and as illustrated, the strip, will begiven two cuts which extend inward from the edge of the strip and afurther out which intersects In the particular construction illustrated,the strip isfgiven two diagonal these cuts.

cuts, indicated at ,5, 6, these cuts being produced by knives 7 and 8.These knives 7,8 I

are, in the particular machine shown, carried by'a crosshead 9 mountedon a pair of vertical rods 10 which reciprocate through guides formed inbosses 11, these bosses be-.

ing formed on a slide 12. This slide 12 is adjustably mounted on an arm18 secured to the frame of the machine in any suitable manner, theadjustment of the slide being determined by setscrews 14, or in anyother suitable manner. The upper end of the slide is formed to produce atable which carries a shear block 16, this table also supporting theguide 2 before referred to. In the best constructions and as shown, theknives 7, 8 will be straight knives, thus producing diagonal straightline cuts extending from theedge of the mouth piece strip inward andtermi-;

natingat points between the edges of the strip. The shear block will, ofcourse, be

. formed with sides which correspond with the shape of the kniveswhatever the shape may be.

In the operation ofv the mechanism, the

paper strip is laid under a guide and holder plate 17 which extendsforward between the knives, the purpose of this plate being/to preventthe strip from being lifted by the return movement f the knives aftercutting. The knives may be operated by any suitable mechanism, thecharacter of which will depend on thecharaoter of the knives employed.When reciprocating knives "of the character illustrated are employed,"their movement may be eifected through an arm 18 which is secured to across head 19 which ties the lower ends of the rods 10 together,

this arm being mounted on. a rock shaft 20. This rock shaft hasconnected thereto an operating arm 21 which engages a stud 22 on a block23 clamped, bymeans of a screw 24, or

in any other suitable manner, to a reciprocating operating rod 25. Thisrod carries a cam roller 26 which engages the groove of a cam 27 mountedon a shaft 28 suitably j ournaled' in the frame of the machine.

In makingup rolls of mouthpiece paper,

it frequently happens that the paper is broken and the ends areoverlapped and pasted together. If such an overlappedportion is allowedto run into the mouthpiece coiling mechanism, the operation of themachine is liable to be interfered with. The best constructions ofmachines embodying the invention will, therefore, be provided with whatmay be termed an overlap detector. While the construction of thisdecourse, on

.tector may be varied, in the construction Q illustrated, it consists oftwo plates 29,39 which are spaced at the middleportions a suitabledistance to permit a single thickness 1 of mouthpiece paper to passtherethrough, but prevent the passage of more than a single"-thickness.-

Suitablestrip forwarding devices will be employed which may be variedwidely in qconstruction andlocation. As shown, these strip forwardingdevices comprise alower roughened roll 31 and an upper roughenedroll"32.j These rolls, whenrolls ,are em:

ployed, may be operated in any desiredman her. In the constructionillustrated, the

ro ls will be' given an intermittentmovement, the roll 31 being mountedon a shaft 33 which has-secured thereto a ratchetdisk 34. This ratchetdisk is operated by means of a spring controlled pawl 35 mounted on apawl carrier 36, this pawl carrier being hung on a hub 37 whichsurrounds the shaft 33.

lThe shaft 33 is also provided with a gear 34" which is in mesh withagear '38 on a shaft 39 which shaft carries the roll 82.

WVhatever be the construction of strip feeding devices employed, theywill, in the best constructions, be of such a character the. position ofthe. crank 41, and, conse-' quently, the movement of the pawl carrier,

can be adjusted,so as to give the'rolls a greater or less amount offeeding movement.

Thenever the strip feeding devices are adjusted, a correspondingvariation can be .made in the position of the knives tdcause them tomake the neck forming cuts in the proper place in the strip, thisdepending, of' the length'which the. blank is to" have when finished.This may be done by shifting the slide 12 ,on'the arm 13, which may beaccomplished by loosening the set screws 14. By loosening the screw 24the clamp block :23 may be correspondingly shifted along the operatingrod 25 v A The devices so far described fo-rin the.

paper strip by cutting the slits 5, obefore referred to. The stripv isthen presented to a blank severing knife which may be of any suitableconstruction.

In: the construction illustrated, this blankyseveringknife consists of apair of shear blades 46,fi47,-the blade 47 being a static-nary bladewhich rests in a recess 48 in the frame. Passing loosely through thisstationary blade '47 is a piv Fig. 0.

a supported in one of the side frames of the machine. The movable shearblade may be operated by any suitable mechanism. In the constructionillustrated, there is provided an operatingslide 51 which has a recessin its top, indicated by the dotted lines a in Fig.1, in which the endof the blade 46 is received. This slide moves in Ways 52 secured to theframe and is provided with a roll 53 (see dotted lines in Fig. 2) whichongages irna closed groove on the inner side of a disk 54 mounted ontheshaft 44 before referred to. i

In the particular construction illustrated, the knife is longenough toproduce a blank severing out which extends from side to side of thestrip, this cut beingindicated at 55, in Fig. 4. This cut intersects thecuts 5, 6 before referred to and completes the formation of thepreceding blank, as appears in It will be noted that the intersectingcuts sever waste pieces from the blank, these waste pieces beingindicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4.

The severed blank is now ready to be formed up into a mouthpiece whichoperation may be effected by any suitable mechanism. A slotted coilingspindle is usually employed in machines of this character for convertingblanks into mouthpieces, and

such a spindle is employed in the particular machine illustrated, and ismarked 56 (see Figs. 6, 7, 9). This spindle may be mounted and operatedin any desired manner., In the construction illustrated, it is so curedby a clamping block 57 to a shaft 58,

. rod 62 which extends across the machine.

The gear 61 has secured to it a mutilated gear 63 which is drivenbysegment gear teeth (34 cut in the circumference of the disk 54 beforereferred to. The gear 63 is provided with a locking segment 65 (see 2)which cooperates with the untoothed portion of the circumference of thedisk 54, such constructions being well-known. It will be understood thatthe slotted spindle is so located with respect to the cutting off knifethat the narrowed forward end of the blank is inserted into the slot inthe spindle beforethe blank severing knife operates, the gearing foroperating the spindle being so timed as to be brought intooperationimmediately after the blank is severed.

It may be here remarked that the formation of the blank in theparticular manner illustrated and heretofore described has severaldistinct advantages. The narrowing of the end thereof permits theemployment of a comparatively short slot inthe spindle, thereby makingthe spindle stiffer. Further, the cutting away of the waste piece formedby the edge of the strip, the out 5 and the cut 55 makes a short tobaccopocket in the end of the mouthpiece so that when the tobacco filler isinserted in the tube it extends for a short distance into this pocket,thus producing a cigarette which is not liable to break. Acigarette inwhich the tobacco filler is flush with the inner end of the mouth pieceis weak and is liable to bend or break at this point. Further, theremoval of the waste piece formed by the edge of the strip, the out 6and the cut 55 improves the appearance of the cigarette, for the reasonthat the end of the blank which is necessarily deformed by the operationof the winding spindle does not show at the outer end of the mouthpiece.In addition to these advantages, the narrowed end of the mouthpieceblank lends itself readily to the formation of a cigarette mouthpiece inwhich the inner end of the blank lies across the bore of the mouth-pieceand forms a positive tobacco stop. By referring to Figs. 8 and 9, itwill be seen that the end of the blank protrudes somewhat beyond thespindle and that when the blank is coiled up, this protruding end isbent overagainst the spindle, a cigarette mouthpiece being producedwhich has a web lying directly across its bore, this web being stifl'enough to prevent the insertion of the tobacco filler too far into themouth-piece.

A cigarette such as referred to formsthe subject-matter of LettersPatent No. 843,628,

can Tobacco Company as assignee of S.\I.

Prescott.

After the mouthpiece blank is formed up, it is introduced into thecigarette tube by suitable mechanism. In the construction illustrated,there is employed a slotted introducing tube 66, this tube beingsupported in a clamp block '67 carried on an arm (38, this arm being:mounted on a slide (39. This slide is supported on the tie rod (52before referred to and a companion rod 70 and is operated fromauysuitable source of power by means of a link 71 and a lever 72.. In theparticular machine illustrated, the forward end of the bl ank, afterpassing through a suitable guide 73 Fig. 6) enters the slit in themouth-piece spindle and is wound up, the introducing tube being movedback over the coiled mouthpiece at just aboutthe time the winding iscompleted. The introducingtube then moves forward, carrying themouthpiece; The friction between the mouthpiece and the inner surface ofthe tube may be relied upon to strip the mouththeconstructionillustrated, the arm 68 i'car 'ries a small strippingspring/Yet which is.

it retreats, carrying the paper tube and inserted mouthpiece, the.completed cigarette shell being stripped from the introducing tube by apivoted springoperated stripper finger 7 6 of well-known construction.

. It is customary in machinesfor forming cigarette shells containingmouthpieces to subject the completed shells to what "1 is knownas arerolling operation, the'purpose of which is to slightly expand.thecoiled mouthpiece to insure that it fits tightly in y the paper tube.The bed maybe provided with anincl ned extensionsl upon. which .40forced byits spring 89 intothe depression the cigarette shells which arestripped from the introducing tube in the manner hereinbefore describeddrop. A curved arm .83is employed for forwarding the shells from thetable 81 into the channel betweenthe roll 77 andthe bed. 78, this armbeing secured by apair of clamps 8% to a shaft '85. To operate this arm,the shaft 86 of the rerolling roll is provided with a cam disk 8? andthe shaft carries an arm 88 -whic-h is forced against the circumferenceof. this cam disk 8'? by'mean's of a spring 89. At the proper time, thearm 88 will be 90 of the cam disk and the introducing arm will be thrownforward to positively force the shell into the rerolling channel. Thererolling mechanism whichincludes a re rolling roll 77 co tiperatingwith the bed 7 8 is operated from a gear 91 von a shaft 86 (see Figs. 1and 6) which meshes with an' idler 92, this idler being driven from agear 93 on amam operating shaft 94,.th1s shaft being driven from anysuitable source of power.

v The completed shells may be discharged into any suitable receptacle,as, for instance,

a magazine, indicated at 95, and, if desired,

caplet tum patent maybe obtained for ,five centsieach, by addressingWashington, D. (3.

ip er fingers, named a ee, may be p y d to insure such delivery.

The shaft 4A, whichyis the shaft-which i carries 'l3l1G" CI3.I1k pin :41and the. disk 54:, may be driven by a suitable gearynot shown, from theidler 92and the. gear 93 mayv (see Fig. 1) through anidler 97 and ageardrive the cam 27 which is the camwhich operates the rod 25. e

Changes and variations-may be made. in

the construction by which the invention is 1 carried into 'efl'ect- Theinvention is not,

therefore,v to'belimited' to the specific. con-:-

struction herein shown and What is cla1med1s:-.

1. In a machine for making cigarette mouthpieces, and in combinationmeans for described.

forwardin a stri of mouth iece material means for giving the strip aneck forming cut extending 1I1WLrlfrom one edge of the strip, and ablank severing ,cut, said cuts ill". itersectlng, and blanlocoilmg. andmouth'--. piece lnserting means, sald means'receivlng the narrowed neckof thejimouthpie'c'e'blank formed by'the cutting means. x 2. In amachine for making cigarette:

mouthpieces and in combination means for.

forwarding a strip of mouthpiece material,

means for giving the sides of the strip neck forming cuts extendinginward toward each other from the edges of the strip. and :a

blank severing out which intersects the neck formin cuts andblankcoilino-and inserting' means which receive thenarrowed necks, ofthe mouthpiece blanks formed by the cutting means.

3. The combination with means for for,- 3 warding a strip of mouthp ecematerial, of I forming knivesfor producing neck forming cuts in theopposite sides of the st-ripeX tendingfrom the edges inward, a severingknifearranged to produce a cut intersecting the forming cuts, ablankcoiling mechanism which receives the narrowed neck formed by the cuts, atube support, and a re-rolling mechanism to which the tube and insertedmouthpiece are dellvered. v

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, in thepresence oftwo'subscribingf I I witnesses. p a

y SYDNEY 1. PRESCOTT. V

Witnesses: I Y a. Wi-I rn,

GrGALIANI.

the com itments of new,

